Tagviolence

August 2, 2018 / David Gratzer / Comments Off on Reading of the Week: Mental Illness & Crime Victimization – the New JAMA Psychiatry Paper

From the Editor

After the mass shooting on Toronto’s Danforth, mental illness has been much in the news. The Canadian Psychiatric Association went so far as to warn against stigmatizing those with mental illness.

Despite stereotypes, studies show that people with mental disorders are more likely to be victims of violent crime rather than perpetrators. That said, the literature is light on how much crime patients experience, and the diagnoses of these patients.

This week, we look at a new paper just published by JAMA Psychiatry. Drawing on databases from Denmark, the University of New South Wales’ Kimberlie Dean and her co-authors consider crime (including violent crime) in a cohort study involving more than two million people. What do they find? Those with mental illness are much more likely to be victims than the general population.

Denmark: old buildings and not-so-old data

In an accompanying editorial, Duke University School of Medicine’s Jeffrey W. Swanson and Charles M. Beldendiscuss the paper, and contrast it with American data. Their piece begins memorably: “The media-driven notion that mentally ill people pose a danger to others appears to be encrusted like a barnacle on the concept of mental illness submerged in the public mind.” They also weigh in on difference in rates of violence between Denmark and the United States.

For years, the Hollywood depiction was black and white: mental illness caused brutal violent behaviour. And maybe society held those views, too – think of the old newspaper headlines talking about ‘psycho killers.’ Times have changed. Hollywood is slowly abandoning the caricatures; newspapers discuss violence against the mentally ill. But to answer this question, of course, we need to look to studies and journals, not the silver screen and journalism, and understand that the relationship between mental illness and violence is much more nuanced.

Hollywood and mental illness: room for improvement

This week, we review two papers. The first, from Psychiatric Services, considers different types of violence and mental illness. No surprise here: like other studies, the authors show that those with mental disorders are more likely to be victims of violence rather than violent to others. But the authors note a larger picture of violence. This short paper is far-reaching in its findings.

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry’s February issue considers violence and schizophrenia (part of the In Review Series). The Quinn and Kolla paper presents a thoughtful review of the literature for evidence-based treatments for violence in schizophrenia.